| (52) | Definition |
| |
| Adjunctive Therapy | Treatment used with the primary treatment to assist the action of the primary treatment. |
| Adjuvant Therapy | Treatment given after the primary treatment to increase the chances of a cure. Adjuvant therapy may include chemotherapy, radiation
therapy, hormone therapy or biological therapy. |
| Angiogenesis | Blood vessel formation. Tumor angiogenesis is the growth of blood vessels from surrounding tissue to a solid tumor. This is caused by the release of chemicals by the tumor. |
| Anti-Angiogenesis | Prevention of the growth of new blood vessels. |
| Anti-Angiogenic Factor | A substance that inhibits blood vessel growth. |
| Avascular Tumor | An abnormal mass of tissue that does not have a blood supply. |
| Benign | Not cancerous. Benign tumors may grow larger but do not spread to
other parts of the body.
|
| Cancer | A term for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control.
Cancer cells can invade nearby tissues and can spread through the bloodstream
and lymphatic system to other parts of the body. There are several main types of
cancer. Carcinoma is cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover
internal organs. Sarcoma is cancer that begins in bone, cartilage, fat, muscle,
blood vessels, or other connective or supportive tissue. Leukemia is cancer that
starts in blood-forming tissue such as the bone marrow, and causes large numbers of abnormal blood cells to be produced and enter the bloodstream. Lymphoma and multiple myeloma are cancers that begin in the cells of the immune system.
|
| Cell | The individual unit that makes up the tissues of the body. All living things are made up of one or more cells. |
| Chemotherapy | Treatment that damages cancerous cells, causing them to stop dividing. Chemotherapy also affects normally dividing cells in the body, such as those in the skin, digestive tract and blood. |
| Colon | The longest part of the large intestine, which is a tube-like organ
connected to the small intestine at one end and the anus at the other. The colon
removes water and some nutrients and electrolytes from partially digested food. The remaining material, solid waste called stool, moves through the colon to the rectum and leaves the body through the anus. |
| Colonoscopy | An examination of the inside of the colon using a thin, lighted
tube, called a colonoscope, inserted into the rectum. Samples of tissues may be
collected for examination under a microscope.
|
| Combination Therapy | Treatment using more than one anti-cancer drug. |
| Complete Response | The disappearance of all signs of cancer in response to treatment. This does not always mean the cancer has been cured. Also called complete remission. |
| Cryosurgery | Treatment performed with an instrument that freezes and destroys abnormal tissues. This procedure is a form of cryotherapy. |
| Debulking Surgery | An operation to remove as much cancer as possible so that it is more responsive to chemotherapy. |
| Double-Blind | A clinical trial in which neither the medical staff nor the person knows which of several possible therapies the person is receiving. |
| Early-Stage Disease | Early cancer that has not spread to neighboring tissue. |
| External Beam Radiation | Radiation therapy that uses a machine to aim high-energy rays at the cancer. Also called external radiation. |
| First-Line Therapy | The first therapy given for a condition or a disease. |
| Growth Factors | Substances made by the body that regulate cell division and cell survival. Some growth factors are produced in the laboratory and used in biologic therapy. |
| Hormone Therapy | Treatment that adds, blocks or removes hormones. For certain conditions (such as diabetes or menopause), hormones are given to adjust low hormone levels. To slow or stop the growth of certain cancers (such as prostate and breast cancer), synthetic hormones or other drugs may be given to block the body's natural hormones. Sometimes surgery is needed to remove the gland that makes a certain hormone. Also called hormonal therapy, hormone treatment or endocrine therapy. |
| Induction Therapy | Treatment designed to be used as a first step toward shrinking the cancer and in evaluating response to drugs and other agents. Induction therapy is followed by additional therapy to eliminate any remaining cancer. |
| Informed Consent | A process in which a person learns key facts about a clinical trial, including potential risks and benefits, before deciding whether or not to participate in a study. Informed consent continues throughout the trial. |
| Intestinal Polyps | A growth that projects from the lining of the colon or rectum (usually on a stalk). |
| Ions | Ions are electrically charged atoms that can cause cell death or a genetic change that inhibits cell growth or proliferation. Ions are produced in cancer cells by radiation therapy. |
| Lymph Node | A rounded mass of lymphatic tissue that is surrounded by a capsule of connective tissue. Lymph nodes filter lymphatic fluid, and they store lymphocytes (white blood cells). |
| Malignant | Cancerous. Malignant tumors can invade and destroy nearby tissue and spread to other parts of the body. |
| Median Survival | In a clinical trial, the time from either diagnosis or treatment at which half of the patients with a given disease are found to be, or expected to be, still alive. Median survival time is one way to measure the effectiveness of a treatment. |
| Metastatic | Having to do with metastasis, which is the spread of cancer from one part of the body to another. |
| Monoclonal Antibodies | Laboratory-produced substances that can locate and bind to substances in the blood or cells, including cancer cells, throughout the body. Many monoclonal antibodies are used in cancer detection or therapy; each one recognizes a different protein on certain cancer cells. Monoclonal antibodies can be used alone, or they can be used to deliver drugs, toxins or radioactive material directly to a tumor. |
| Neoadjuvant Therapy | Treatment given before the primary treatment. Examples of neoadjuvant therapy include chemotherapy, radiation therapy and hormone therapy. |
| Palliative Therapy | Treatment given to relieve the symptoms and reduce the
suffering caused by cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Palliative cancer
therapies are given together with other cancer treatments, from the time of diagnosis, through treatment, survivorship, recurrent or advanced disease, and at the end of life.
|
| Partial Response | A decrease in the size of a tumor or the amount of cancer in the body in response to treatment. Also called partial remission. |
| Proangiogenic Factor | A substance that stimulates blood vessel growth. |
| Progression-Free Survival | Progression-free survival, or PFS, is a measure used to assess the effectiveness of treatment and refers to a patient staying alive
without their disease getting worse.
|
| Prophylactic Radiation Therapy | Radiation given to areas of the body that do not have evidence of cancer in order to prevent cancer cells from growing. |
| Radiation Therapy | The use of high-energy radiation from x-rays, gamma rays, neutrons and other sources to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation may come from a machine outside the body (external-beam radiation therapy), or it may come from radioactive material placed in the body near cancer cells (internal radiation therapy, implant radiation or brachytherapy). Systemic radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance, such as a radiolabeled monoclonal antibody, that circulates throughout the body. Also called radiotherapy. |
| Rectum | The last several inches of the large intestine. The rectum ends at the anus. |
| Recurrence | Cancer that has returned after a period of time during which the
cancer could not be detected. The cancer may come back to the same place as the original (primary) tumor or to another place in the body. Also called recurrent
cancer.
|
| Refractory | Cancer that does not respond to treatment. |
| Relapse | The return of signs and symptoms of cancer after a period of improvement. |
| Second-Line Treatment | Treatment that is given when initial treatment (first-line therapy) does not work or stops working. |
| Small Molecule (Drugs) | Drug substances that have a low molecular weight.
Small molecules penetrate cell membranes and the blood/brain barrier more easily than larger molecular weight compounds such as proteins, peptides and
carbohydrates. They can usually be administered orally.
|
| Standard Therapy | In medicine, treatment that experts agree is appropriate, accepted and widely used based on the results of past research and FDA approval. Also called standard of care or best practice. |
| Survival Rate | The percentage of people in a study or treatment group who are alive for a given period of time after diagnosis. This is commonly expressed as 5-year survival rate, but can be measured in any time increment. |
| Systemic Therapy | Treatment using substances that travel through the
bloodstream, reaching and affecting cells all over the body.
|
| Targeted Therapy | A type of treatment that uses drugs or other substances to identify and attack specific cancer cells. A monoclonal antibody is a type of targeted treatment. |
| Third-Line Treatment | Treatment that is given when both intial treatment (first-line therapy) and subsequent treatment (second-line therapy) does not work or stops working. |
| Tumor | An abnormal mass of tissue that results when cells divide more than they should or do not die when they should. Tumors may be benign (not cancerous), or malignant (cancerous). Also called neoplasm. |
| Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) | A substance made by cells that stimulates new blood vessel formation. |
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